West Virginia Democrat. [volume] (Charles Town, W. Va.) 1885-1890, 1887-07-29
MAIDS OF HONOR.
Waiting on Her British Majesty is Any
thing But Sinecure.

The maids of honor to the Queen
earn every penny of f3OO a year
which is their stipend for filling q
very difficult position. With the
best of intentions and with the kind
est heart in the world, the Queen ex-
poets so much from herself in the
way of physical toll, both for busi-
ness and pleasure, that she may per-
haps be excused for sometimes for
getting that the flesh, especially ar
istocratic flesh, is weak. The maids
of honor are on duty for month at
time, and at the end of month
they are fit subjects for a course of
tonic treatment. While on duty they
cannot call their souls their own.
After breakfast, which they take in
their own rooms, they have to hold
themselves in instant readiness to
obey the Queens summons, which
comes the moment Sir Henry Pom
sonby quits her Majesty's presence,
with the big red morocco dispatch
box, containing his days work, un-
der his arm. After brief "Good
morning the Queen suggests lit
tie reading, and the dutiful maid ad-
dresses herself to the pile of papers
wherein the proper passages for her
Majesty's hearing have already been
marked by Sir Henry. Through COL
umns and columns of parliamentary
debate leading article and correspon-
dence has the poor lady to intone
her dismal way, often having to re
peat passages, for the Queen never
leaves a subject till she has thor
oughly mastered it, and is not at ali
sparing in her commands to "Just
read that again, please" The maid
of honor is so busy minding her
stops and trying to modulate her
voice that she has little chance of
understanding tithe of what she is
reading, and yet the moment the
reading is over she has to rush off
and get ready for drive with her
royal mistress, during which she
will be expected to make lucid re-
marks on the topics she has just
read aloud.
After luncheon is the only real
time the maids have to themselves,
and even that is spoiled for them by
the uncertainty as to whether they
will be wanted to walk or drive with
the Queen later in the afternoon.
They must stay in their apartments
for, if by any chance they should be
sent for and were not to be found at
the moment, their life for day or
two would not be a happy one, so
that stroll in the grounds on their
own account is out of the question
till after4 o'clock, when, if the Queen
has departed on drive without them
they know they are free till 6 at any
rate. On the Queens return there
is more reading aloud, this time of
ponderous works on heavy philo-
sophical subjects, or else the arrang-
ing of sketches, photographs, or it
may be the charity needlework is
brought out till such time as her
Majesty goes to dress for her 3
o'clock dinner, where, to the relief
of the maid of honor, she is not ex-
pected to be present. BY this time
she is not unfrequently faint for
want of food, for when not at court
she would naturally be finishing
dinner at the hour when it is the
Queens pleasure to commence it.
Young ladies do not, as rule,
jump at the post of maid of honor to
the Queen until they have given
themselves fair chance Of obtain
ing an establishment" 1t is not
until season after season has been
drawn blank that disconsolate Ia
dies have recourse to the dignity,
very much minus the leisure, cfjoin-
ing the "Houshold." 1t follows
that, though by no means in the scar
and yellow leaf, the majority of the
maids Of honor are not in the first
blush or budding girlhood. The
present senior maid is the Hon. Har-
riet Lepel Phipps, cousin of the
Marquis of Normandy. Miss Phipps
will never see her 45 birthday again.
The Hon. Frances Drummond,
daughter Of Viscount Strathallan, is
SO. The Hon. Ethel CadOgan was
born in 1853, which puts to her cred
it 33 summers, and the Hon. Maud
tOkeover, niece of Lady Waterpark,
by whose influence she got the APP
pointment, is only q.